Grand Prix successes in Monterrey La Silla

In Shanghai last weekend, the third stage of the Longines Global Champions Tour was enjoyed, but also on the other side of the world the past few days saw another round of top-level showjumping. The Mexican city of Monterrey La Silla hosted the grand final of the Major League Show Jumping, in which some Z-horses were also successful.

The grass arena of Monterrey La Silla saw a lot of international action over the past few days, with both a five-star and a two-star competition on the programme. The CSI5* Grand Prix on Saturday was undoubtedly the apotheosis of the weekend and in it there was another strong performance for Colombian rider Mark Bluman and the 13-year-old gelding Landon de Nyze, the son of our chestnut stallion Comilfo Plus Z and Quadrillo who was given the birth name Crack de Nyze Z by breeder Danny Nijs. Just a week earlier, Bluman and Landon de Nyze won the Grand Prix Qualifier at Lexington's Kentucky Horse Park and in Monterrey La Silla were one of eight combinations to qualify for the jump-off. In it, they seemed to be on their way to a resounding Grand Prix victory, as they posted the fastest finishing time on the scoreboard in 38.43 seconds. Unfortunately, however, in their haste they saw a bar go against them, so they had to settle for ^4th place finally.

In turn, ^5th place in this CSI5* Grand Prix was reserved for Irish rider Shane Sweetnam and the 10-year-old chestnut stallion Coriaan Van Klapscheut Z, the son of Comme Il Faut and Lord Z from the Van Rossem family's breeding farm at Stoeterij Mivaro BV. Sweetnam and Coriaan Van Klapscheut Z, also in excellent form in recent weeks, also ran into four penalties in the jump-off in a time of 39.40 seconds.

One of the qualifiers for this Grand Prix took place on Thursday and in it Canadian rider Erynn Ballard provided a top ranking with the 15-year-old chestnut stallion De Flor 111 Z Santa Rosa, a son of Der Senate 111 and Action-Breaker bred by Peter Van Santvoort and Harrie Theeuwes Stables NV. In a jump-off for which ten out of forty-one combinations qualified, they crossed the finish line in 38.89 seconds, securing a nice ^2nd place.

Also on Thursday, Brazilian rider Eduardo Pereira de Menezes scored a podium finish with the 8-year-old stallion Excellent Sunshine Z (Emerald van 't Ruytershof x Dutch Design), from the breeding farm of Tom De Waele. In the 1.45m class, Pereira de Menezes and Excellent Sunshine Z kept nicely clear in both the first round and the Winning Round and this performance also earned them a^2nd place in the rankings. Mexican rider Carlos Hank Guerreiro and the 10-year-old stallion H5 Chillipepper Z (Crunch 3 x Diarado - breeder: Martin Poppen) followed a little further down in ^5th place.

Within the five-star competition, there was also a blue/yellow victory in Monterrey and American rider Lillie Keenan took care of that with 11-year-old stallion Anton SBK Z (Arko III x Quintero ASK), who was born to breeder Louis Bijloos. Keenan and Anton SBK Z were the winners of the 1.40m opening class on Wednesday, where they were more than half a second ahead of their closest pursuer with a clear^2nd phase in 30.00 seconds.